Compressor



Patented Feb. 2l, 1928.

FICE.

JONAS T. LAGERGBEN, OF ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

COMPRESSOR.

Application led June 12, 1925. Serial No. 86,656.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement of compressor parts with a view to compactness and efficiency.'

Another object is to rovi-de a novel oscillating c linder for t e compressor Whereby the riction during operation is greatly reduced and high speed and efiiciency may be had. Another object is to provide for the firm seating of the cylinder upon the wall wherein the inlet and outletorts are located and over which-the cylin er oscillates. These and other objects of my invention will be more readily understood upon reference to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of a Vrefrigerating apparatus' employinga compressor constructed and a1.-

ranged in accordance with the present invention, the driving motor being omitted; Fig. 2 a plan view of the same, some of the conduit connections at the top being shown in section taken on a plane indicated by the line 2-2 ofFig. l; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same, the plane of section being indicated by the line of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an elevational view showing certain parts in full and compressor parts in section, the plane ofsection being indicated by the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a modification illustrating the opening at the upper end of thecylinder bore as somewhat restricted; Fig. 6 is a partial sectional elevation, taken on a plane indicated by the iline 6-6 of Fig." 1, illustrating particularly means byv which the cylinders may be maintained tight upon p their seats ;l Fig. 7 is 4an elevation illustrating a modified arran ement by which the cooling tankcapacity 1s enlarged by connection with an auxihary tank containing a supply of cooling liquid; Fig. 8 is an eleva tion illustratingparticularly the gauges and safety valve at the top of the cooling tank;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the position of the driving motor, the con-` ing tank. Throughout these views like char,

acters refer to like parts.

Referring to the drawino's in detail, A designates the cooling tank, B the. compressor Within the tank, C the condenser above the compressor, D the liquid container within .the condenser coil, and E a chimney surrounding the condenser and container, and operative to circulate the cooling liquid within the tank. In operation, the refrigerant in the form of a Vgas enters the compressor by way of 4.the supply conduit connections F. and G. From the compressor the refrigerant now compressed and heated passes to the 'coil' of the condenser of the conduits H .and I. After passing throughthe coil of the condenser and giving vup some of its heat, the refrigerant is led from the lower end of the condenser coil C receiver D, wherein it appears in liquid form. From the lower end of the receiver D the liquid refrigerant passes by way of conduits K and L from the apparatus.

The cooling tank A is preferably an open ended upright tubular tank having a circular wall 10 of metal mounted upon a base l1 of cast iron or other' suitable material. The compressorB is ofspecial construction intended for Vhigh speed operation. lt is rovided with a horizontal crank shaft 13. having crankslfi which are directly connected to the lower ends of pistons which extend upward into the bores of oscillating cylinders 16 which are mounted to move to and frol upon arcuate casing walls 17 which serve as bearings or seats for the cylinders 16. The crank shaft is mounted in suitable bearings 18 and 19 formed respectively in the casing Walls 20 and-21. These walls form the ends vof the compressor casing vand are joined to an intermediate member 23 having a lower portion 22 which serves as-a base for the conilpressor structure. The casing member 23 1ncludes the wall 17, previously referred to. The base portion 22 is secured to the'base 11 of the tank A in any suitable way, as by by Way means of the screw bolts 25. The other parts l 'the casing is such that the crank shaft is located in a lubricant compartment 26 and, preferably, the level of the lubricant, which is ordinarily a suitable oil 27, is high enough vto enga e the crank shaft and the cranks,

and as t ey are rotated the oil is dashed up against the moving parts so as to fully lubricate them. The upper end of the casing 23 is provided with an inlet port 28 which is in direct communication with the supply conduit G. The same part of the casing is provided with an outlet port 29 which is in direct communication with the conduit H. The latter port is controlled by a check valve 31. In operation as the piston 15 moves downward upon the suction stroke, the cylinder 16 is in position to bring the open end 32 of the bore of the cylinder into communication' with the inlet port 28. In this way a charge of the gaseous refrigerant is drawn into-the cvlinder. Then as the cylinder oscillates an the piston begins its compressionA stroke the open end 32 has passed out of communication with the inlet port 28 and is brought into communication with the outlet port 29. The upward movement of the piston compresses the as and overcomes the spring of the check.

valve 31 and the compressed gas is thereupon driven through the conduit I-I. It will be noted that the upper end'32 of the bore of the 'cylinder permits the gas, when being compressed by the piston 15, to exert pressure directly upon the wall 17 of the casing instead of upon an end wall of the cylinder. This is an lmportant feature of my invenfor by this arrangement the friction of "the cylinder 16 upon its vseat 17 is greatly reduced. In many prior art devices, the compression acts solely upon the walls of the cylinder and in this wa greatly increases the pressure of the cylin er upon the surrounding bearing wall of the casing. The hole made in drllling the inlet port 28 is, in the embodiment shown, closed by the threaded plug 33. Likewise, in the case of thecheck valve 31, the stem of the valve travels up and down in a bore in the plug 34, which is -threaded intoa sleeve 35, in turn held in an opening inthe casing by a cap or plug 36.

The open end 32 of the bore of the cylinder is, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, of the same diameter as the rest of the bore. Thus the pressure exerted upon the'cfylinder itself during the compression stroke is not upward,

but lateral. In some instances, it may be desirable to use some of this pressure to provide for the firm seating ofthe cylinder 16 upon its seat 17. Where this'is desired the open end 32 of the bore of the cylinder may be replaced by a .restricted open end 32', such as shown in Fig. 5. There, the overhanging ledge 37 receives pressure upon its under s1dewhich tends to force the cylinder 16 upward. The extent of this pressure will depend upon the extent of the overhang of theledge 37. This may be varied as desired.

vin Fig. 4.

igea-9,603v

aperture in the portion 39 of the casing.'

The lower edge of the lug 41 is in each 1nstance beveled so as to provide a knife edge 44.` The vcoiled. spring in each instance bears at vits lower end against the casing and at its upper end against a washer 4() which, in turn, bears upon the knife edge 44. compressive is just suicient to nicely seat the cylinders 16, and to provide efficient and satisfactory operation.4

For the purpose of supplying lubricating oil to the chamber 26, I preferably connect to the upper side of the casing 23 two stand pipes 45 and 46. These communicate at their lower ends with the casing 26 through suitable passages, such as the passage 47 shown stand pipes extends above the level of the cooling liquid and is provided with a closing cap 48. When it is desired to supply lubricant to the chamber 26, one, or both, of these caps 48 is removed and the lubricant poured ,down through the` pipe into the chamber. supplying the lubricant, these stand pipes receive the foam and vapor from the oil produced by the churning action of the cranks operating in the crank .chamber 26, and as-the same rises u in these pipes it is ment high pressure within the chamber'26, due to the churning of the lubricant, is eliminated. y

The shaft 13 of the compressor extends through an aperture in the tank AWall 10 and is driven by a motor located outside of the tank. Preferably, an electric motor 49 is The upper end of each of thesel Besides serving as a conduit forv hole in the The I force exerted by the springs 38V used for this purpose, and its shaft is con? nected to the end of the shaft-13 by coupling 51. The motor and tank A are preferably' mounted upon a common base 52.l For this purpose the base 11 of the tank is provided with suitable openings 50 through which bolts may bepassed into the base 52 to secure the tankin' place. A seal4 is providedfor the shaft 13 to prevent the escape of any gas fro-m the chamber 26 along the shaft to the outside of the tank. This seal is made rby using two sections of packing 53, 54 separated by a suitable'spacing means such asa lantern 55. The packing 53 and'54 closely embraces the shaft 13 and the outer packing 541s held in place by a gland 56 surrounding the shaft and fitted into the end of theA las 105 condensed and returne Bythis arrange-v `bore in the projecting member 57 through which the shaft 13 extends. The member A57 is preferably made integral with the end member 21 of the casin of the compressor, and is provided with a ange 58 at its outer end by whichit is firmly secured to the tank wall through the agency of an outer ring 59 and suitable securing means,rsuch,as the screws 61. The outer end of the gland 56 terminates in a head()` which is firmly secured to the member 57 by bolts 60 which is located is in communication with theA `at its upper end by a cap any gas Awhich may creep along the shaft 13 as far as the lantern 55 will at-oncepass upare threaded into tapped o .enings in said member. The space in whic the lantern l55 lower end of a stand pipe 62, which is similar to the stand pipes and 46 and is closed 63. This stand pipe is filled more or less with oil or other suitable liquid, and by its employment static p ssure is applied tothe packing 53 vand at the lower end of the pipe, and Ain 'this Iray a lirm seal is'produced. Furthermore,

ward through the 4oil inthe stand pipe l62. None will pass beyond the packing l154 through gland 56 to the outside of the tank.

The condenser C is preferably a continu ous coil of tubing supported by its connection at its lupper end.w`rth the piping H and I. The conduit J which connects the lower end of the -coil C with the upper end of the receiver D alsoserves to support the latter in its position within the coil. vThe receiver isalso supported in part by the conduit K which is connected near its lower end and passes upward through the open end of the tank. Obviously, instead of relying upon the piping connections to support the condenser C and receiver D in place, other means might be employed. -However, 'in practice, this is found suiiicient. The chimney E preferably rests in'p'art vupon transverse members 64 which are secured to the casing 23 of the compressor B. The chimney may also rest in vpart upon the flanges of the elbows of the conduitsl G and H, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The lower end of the chimney, which 1s tubular,rests upon these cross members and flanges 'at its lower end', and is at its upper. end held against tilting by one or more stays 65. It'will be seen that as the water, or other cooling liquid, in the tank A, which normally practically fills the tank, being'in the instance shown at the level Y66, is heated by the compressed gas giving oil its heat in the condenser C, it will move upward within the chimney E toward' the veo topof the tank, being replaced 'by the cooler -water toward' the bottomof the tank. Thus a circulation will be established b which the 4water will pass upward within t 1e chimney and downward outside of the same. This circulation will not only'facilitate .the cooling and liquefying of the compressed com ressor B cool. In practice, the capacity of t e coolin tank A is proportional to the capacit of t e compressor, and the design is prefera ly such that the apparatus can be run for a predetermined period and develop a predetermined amount of refrigeration with the temperature of the cooling liquid in the tank kept Within reasonable limits. In a design for a household machine, designed to ru-n about two hours forproducing a. refrigerating-eifect'equal to 25 pounds o1 ice, the single tank arrangement of Fig. 1 will be sufiicient. Even where double that amountf of refrigeration is required, it may be obtained by running the machine a couple ofhours in the morning and then the same period in the evening. the water or other cooling agent in the tank A suiiicienttime to cool oft between therunning periods. Of course, if desired, the tank This will givc A may be. made much larger, and in this way a constant operation of the apparatus provided for. If, in other instances, the space available for the tank A is not suiiicint for 468 and 69, as illustratedin Fig. 7.

For the purpose of vindicating the difference in pressure between the high pressure y and low pressure sides of the apparatus, I

lprovide a.' highpressure indicator-7l connected with the conduit H through anex- .tension 72, anda low pressure indicator 73 connected with the conduit G through an extension 74. The extension pipes 72 and l74 are connected by cross conduits 75 and 76 to a safety valve 77.l The operation of this valve is the usual one. When the pressure on the high pressure side becomes too great, the valve 77 opens to bring about a reduction of pressure upon theV high pressure side. i i

When the apparatus is not in use, provision must'be made for draining it. This is accomplished by outlet passages 78, 79, and 81, located in the base 11 of the tank A. The assage- 78 merely extends far enough into t e metalofthe base 1l to pass the outer wall 10, and then the same communicates with a vertical passage 82which opens directly into the interior of the tank A. Through the passages 82 and 78 the water or other cooling liquid within the. tank A may be drained off. Likewise, the assage 79 extends far enough into the meta of thel `lustrated more clearly, perha s, in Fig. 4.

Through this! passage then, t e crank case may be completely drained. The remainl .ing passage 81 extends through the metal of the base 11 .to a point directly beneath the lower end of the drain. pipe 83 with which it communicates by a short upward turn. The pipe 83 is connected through suitable coupling flanges 84 to a transverse pipe l85 which communicates with the liquidreceiving tank D. Through the pipes 85 and 83 and the passage 81, it is therefore possible to drain the liquid receiver D. The outer ends of these conduits 78, 79, and 81, are closed by screw caps 86, 87, and 88, respectively, or by proper stop valves.

The various conduits F, G, H, I,` and K, are connected together in the embodiment shown by couplings formed in each instance of blocks in which the ends of the conduits are firmly seated, and then these blocks are secured together by bolts. Since these couplings are practicallylthe same in all instances, I have designated the blocks generally as 91, and the connecting bolts as 92.

Obviously, other connecting means might be l employed. v

In the use of my refrigerating apparatus, the refrigerant may be variously employed after passing from the tank A'. Many arrangements or utilizing the same are Well known. However, for the purpose of illustration, I have shown in F10. 9 a complete arrangement wherein the re rigerant passes from the tank A through conduit L to. a refrigerating chamber R in which a cooling coil 93 is located; it is supplied with the refrigerant through an expansion valve 94, and the return end of the coil 93 is connected to the conduit F which leads the gas back to the apparatus in the tank A. The expansion ofthe cooled and condensed refrigerant as it passes through the valve 94, 'which may be .either automatically or manually operated, causes the objects in the chamber R to `give up heat, and thus the desired refrigeration is obtained. In the case shown, a thermostat 94 in the chamber It controls the circuit of the moto49 to start and stop the same, according to the requirements of the temperature in the chamber R. As here shown,

the motor 49 is an 'electric motor supplied with current rommains -95 and96, the current passing through the contacts of a switch 97, and through conductors 98 and 99, the conductor 98' 1n this instance being the one shown in circuit with the thermostat 94. Obviously, various circuit arrangements might be provided for the controlof the motor, and' this would be .true whether the motor-employed were anelectric motor, or a motor relying upon other energy for its actu-v ation. -l

' With reference-to the circulation of the water or other cooling li uid within the tank it isx clear that the circ ation facilitates the cooling, which occurs both Aby conduction through the tank walls and by evaporation or convection at the waters surface. For the latter purpose the top of the tank is open cept that its upper end is bell-mouthed,

so as to leave the water in direct contact with the air. If desired the tank may be specially shaped so as to increase the area of the surface of the water thus exposed. Thus, in Fig.- 10 I have illustrated a 'tank A2 of the 7n same general construction as the tank A exmade so'by curving the upper portion 100 ot the wall outward. By filling the tank A2 almost full, say to the water level 101, a large super- 15v ficial cooling area is provided by the surface of the water. -With a tankl of this construction the water is more rapidly cooled and the capacity of the apparatus is thereby increased.

It will be clear from what has been said heretofore that with the employment of the thermostat 94 in the circuit arrangement of Fig.`9, or in any other' equivalent circuit arrangement, the apparatus will-operate auto- S5 matically as the temperature changes in the space R may require.. The periodic operation of the apparatus, as for instance a couple of hours in the morning and then the same period in the evening, heretofore re/ 00 ferred to, would be the method of operation where automatic control by a thermostat was not necessary or desirable.

Although the positions of the condenser C and liquid receiver D are shown and de- 95 scribed as vertical, yet'the same in some installations may be inclined vto the vertical. f

Obviously considerable change could be made in this respect without departing from the mode ot operation of the apparatus. It willbe clear that in carrying out' my invention still further alterations and modifi-v cations may be made in the structuresillustrated without departing from its spirit and scope. I therefore donot wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, butr aim to cover all such alterations and modifications as come within the spirit and scopeof my f invention, by the terms of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by a patent of the United States is: l

1. A compressor including a casing, an s oscillating cylinder mounted therein, a is` ton reciprocable in the bore of said cylin er ports in the casing wallV upon which sa'd Vcylinder oscillates cooperating with the open end of .said bore, said open end permitting the pressure within the cylinder bore during vthe compression strokey of said w." piston to act directly upon said casing wall wherein said ports ai'elocated, and meansv acting betweenhsaid cylinder and a portion of said casing 'o posite said ports.v to yieldingly seat said cy index' upon said ported wall. |25

2. A compressor; including a casing, an oscillating cylinder mounted therein, a iston reciprocable in the bore of said cylin er, ports in the casing wall upon which said cylinder oscillates cooperating with the 13 open end of said bore, said open end permitting the preure within the cylinder Ibore during the compressionv stroke of said piston to act direct y upon said casin wall .wherein said ports are located, Van means for yieldingly holding said cylinder against said ported casing wall as saidcyl'- inder oscillates. v

3. A compressor mcluding `a casing, an

oscillatingV cylinder mounted therein, a pist0n reciprocable in the bore of said cylinder, ports in the casing wall upon which said ,cylinder oscillates cooperating with the open end of said bore, said open end perressure withinthe cylinder `bore during t e compression stroke of said mitting the piston to act directlyl upon said casing wall wherein said ports are 1ocated,' and means for vvcausing said cylinder to press snugliy against saidwported casing wall as said cy inder Yoscillates, said means including com? pression springs acting between fixedv por-\ tions of said casing and lugson said cylinder.

4. A compremr inclu abusing, an 9i oscillating cylinder moun therein,` said cylinder ospiston reciprocable inthe bore of said cylinports cooperating' der, a member havingwith' the open end of sald bore, said cylinder and member being relatively movable, and

means forjyieldingly7 holding the openV end of said cylinder against .said ported member .to maintain the open bore and the portsin A i operative relation as the cylinder and memsubscribe 4 5 i ber are relatively moved.

i In witnesswhereof, I-hereunto myname this 9th day of- June, 1925. 5

JONAS. T. LAGERGRE'N,

` ortion of theV ports in said portion cooperat- I 

